The disclosures herein relate generally to computer systems and more particularly to a system and method for mounting a peripheral device in a computer system.
Chassis with conventional hard drive mounting bays require the hard drive to be installed in the chassis before electronic cables can be attached to the hard drive. They also often require screws to be secured into the hard drive once it is positioned inside of the drive mounting bay. This type of mounting technique can result in a restricted and difficult assembly process. Furthermore, this type of mounting technique can adversely affect production cost due to assembly errors and greater assembly time.
Attempts have been made to simplify the drive mounting process by improving access to drive mounting hardware and cable connectors. Some mounting apparatus use removable drive bays. Other drive mounting apparatuses include mounting brackets that allow the drives to be slid and/or snapped into position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,804 discloses a bracket for securing a computer drive within a housing. The housing has a base and two walls each disposed perpendicularly to the base and to each other. The bracket includes a base for supporting the computer drive. The base has an aperture for securing the bracket within the housing and for limiting movement of the bracket in a first degree of freedom. The bracket also includes a support means which is perpendicularly coupled to the base. The support means engages the first wall for limiting movement of the bracket in a second degree of freedom. A mechanism is coupled to the base for engaging the housing wall and for limiting movement of the bracket in a third degree of freedom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,079 discloses a multi-purpose frame for a computer including floppy disk seats and hard disk seats. The front end of the frame is provided with side hooks, front hooks and a downward urging retainer. The side portion of the frame is provided with interface card hooks, and the rear lower portion thereof is provided with a pair of L-shaped strips. Each one of the hard disk seats is provided with fastening hooks and a resilient retainer, and one of the floppy disk seats is provided with dovetail grooves having a recess located therebetween. The frame facilitates the dismounting and replacing of the disk drives which may be conveniently mounted to or dismounted from the computer base.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,909 discloses an apparatus for removing mass storage devices (e.g. disk drives) from the internal support frame in a computer system. The apparatus includes a mass storage device having resilient, side-mounted engagement members adapted for receipt in openings through the side walls of the support frame to lock the device in position. To remove the device, a rotatable lever is connected to at least one side wall of the support frame. The lever includes at least one projection member positioned adjacent to the opening through the side wall to which the lever is connected. To remove the device from the support frame, the lever is rotated so that the projection member contacts the engagement member. Continued rotation of the lever causes the engagement member to be urged inwardly and out of the opening in the side wall. As a result, the device is unlocked from the frame.
Although attempts have been made to simplifying the mounting peripheral devices in a chassis of a computer, only limited success has been achieved. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method for quickly and economically mounting a peripheral device in the chassis of a computer system that overcomes the shortcomings of previous techniques.
One embodiment, accordingly, provides a chassis configured to allow a cable to be connected to a peripheral device prior to installing the peripheral device in the chassis. To this end, one embodiment provides an apparatus for mounting a peripheral device in a computer including a chassis having two spaced apart walls and a transverse wall attached between the two spaced apart walls. A door is pivotally attached to a first one of the two spaced apart walls for being moved between an open position and a closed position with respect to a second one of the two spaced apart walls. A first peripheral device retaining member is attached to the transverse wall. A second peripheral device retaining member is attached to the door. A mechanism is provided for securing the door in the closed position.
A principal advantage of this embodiment is that access to the back of the peripheral device is enhanced for simplifying attachment of the associated cabling to the peripheral device, permitting faster installation time.